The Ides of March returned to the halls of Taunton High School on Thursday.

The event — which has occured annually for the past 50 years — commemorates the death of famed Roman leader Julius Caesar, who was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C.

To remember Caesar’s death, students from the school’s Latin Club march through the halls of Taunton High shouting “Caesar mortuus est” (Caesar is dead) and “Roma vitor” (Rome is the victor) — while members of the school’s marching band play The Imperial March made famous by the Star Wars franchise.

This year, 75 students signed up to participate in the Ides of March procession and first—year Latin teacher Jessica Charlesworth ran the show for her first time.

“I’m very, very proud of everybody that participated, very proud. Couldn’t be happier,” Charlesworth said after the procession. “Everybody had a blast. I can’t wait for next year.”

For the past ten years, Dr. Chris Scully has run the event, and — watching in the school’s main lobby — he was proud of Charlesworth and the students.

“I thought it was great,” Scully said. “I though it was really super. I thought the kids did great, and I thought Mrs. Charlesworth did an excellent job organizing the students.”

This year’s event coincided with Taunton High’s Foreign Language Week — a national event meant to promote the importance of foreign language study.

“Foreign Language Week has been celebrated on a national level since the 1950s,” said Elizabeth Rodrigues, curriculum supervisor for the foreign languages department. “Taunton High’s been celebrating Foreign Language Week for probably over 20 years now, and we’ve always done our own version. Every year, we change our tradition... and it’s become a fabric of the culture of Taunton High.”

For the Ides of March, playing Caesar during the procession — who is carried on a stretcher through the halls — was freshman Ben Tully, 15, and he said he was chosen because he was one of the smallest members of Latin Club.

“They need someone light to carry around,” Tully said before the performance. “I’m kind of nervous to keep a straight face, but I’m kind of excited.”

In the lobby of every house and the main office, the procession stopped for a brief performance that includes speeches from Marc Antony, the Roman Fates and Soothsayers. One of the Soothsayers this year was played by senior Jeana Caporelli, 18, who participated in her third Ides of March event.

“I look forward to this all year,” said Caporelli. “...I think it’s very important for everyone to know the Roman culture because so much of our society and our government comes from Ancient Rome, and I think it’s really interesting.”

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The students have been practicing for the event since school started, according to Charlesworth.

“Ides of March is the biggest thing all year, so essentially we’ve been working towards it all year,” Charlesworth said. “But it hasn’t gotten intense until the last couple of months.”

As part of the preparations, Charlesworth and the Latin Club had to recruit members from the band, assign speaking roles, organize costumes and props, and, of course, practice. During preparations, Scully said he tried to play a supportive role, and he let Charlesworth take the lead on this year’s event.

Nonetheless, Charlesworth said she’s grateful for all the help from Scully and her students to make this year’s event a success.

“The students just really know what they’re doing. They’ve been really helpful,” Charlesworth said. “Scully has been fantastic. He’s been to every Latin Club meeting — he hasn’t missed one — and he’s been there for any questions that come up along the way.”